<p>With the opening two hours of Dark Souls 2 under our belt, you'll likely be unsurprised to hear that the bulk of that time was spent dying, respawning, dying and trying again. Welcome back to the realm of sadistic design for the masochistic player. As third-person, melee-biased RPGs go, this is not going for everyone.</p><p>Journeying through Dark Souls 2's Drangleic feels like a warped reflection of what we've already seen from Dark Souls' Lordran and Demon's Souls' Boletaria. You're still up against when it comes to staying alive and fighting enemies, just as much as you are when it comes to figuring out a route through a world with no help from signs, maps or the few NPCs not thirsting for your blood.</p><p>It's no exaggeration to say that half of my two hours were spent backtracking and trying to figure out just where I was and where I'd already been. To make matters worse, in typical 'Souls' series fashion, you're not even told who you are or where you're going. Knowledge, if you can uncover it, should be treasured.</p><p>To make things even more difficult, Dark Souls 2 features a new approach to health that sees your bar shrink each time you die. Numerous deaths can result in it dropping as low as 50 percent of its normal level, presumably making the kinds of unexpected boss battles that no doubt await deeper in the game even more arduous.</p><p><a href="http://www.pcgamesn.com/dark-souls-ii-pc-preview-better-second-time-round">Keep reading...</a></p>